Medical Advisory Board Members
Know The Glow is grateful for the ongoing support and advice from these outstanding doctors, surgeons, and scientists. Their heartfelt expertise and unique insights helps drive our mission forward every day, saving children’s sight here in California and around the world. Their valuable perspectives are often featured on our blog, website and social media outlets, keeping us informed of the latest scientific breakthroughs in research and treatment for eye diseases.
Jesse Berry, M.D.
Dr. Berry is Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and the Assistant Director of Ocular Oncology at the USC Eye Institute at the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In addition, Dr. Berry is Associate Residency Program Director for the Los Angeles County + University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Ophthalmology Residency Program. Dr. Berry specializes in ocular oncology and has surgical expertise in cataract and comprehensive ophthalmology. She is also the founder of WOO, Women in Ocular Oncology, and she is a member of the Society of Heed Fellows. Dr. Berry received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University in Massachusetts.
Ashwin Mallipatna, M.D.
Dr. Ashwin Mallipatna is a Pediatric Ophthalmologist and the Head of the Retinoblastoma Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Before this, he set up and led a retinoblastoma center in South India. In achieving the goal of providing the best evidence-based standard of care to the resource-limited families in India, his friends formed an NGO called Iksha Foundation in India, which facilitates financial help for the treatment and support of children with retinoblastoma in many Indian cities.
Dr Mallipatna has significant academic achievements, including leading the work involved in staging retinoblastoma for the American Joint Committee on Cancer (8th Edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual), which impacts retinoblastoma management worldwide. In addition, he has a keen interest in the intricacies of red-reflexes and leukocoria. With the support of a Thrashers Research Early Career Grant Award, he led work that would promote the early detection of leukocoria using a camera flash. He collaborated with researchers from Université de Montréal, the University of Toronto and the University of Adelaide. This work attracted recognition from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Young Innovators Award in India (INDIA TR35 Young Innovators Award).
Francis Munier, M.D.
After medical studies and residency in Lausanne, Francis Munier obtained board certification in both Ophthalmology and Medical Genetics. From 1991 to 1993, he received additional training in Molecular Genetics and Pediatric Oculo-Oncology at Children’s Hospital Los-Angeles under the guidance of A. Linn Murphree. Back in Lausanne he joined the Retinoblastoma Clinic at Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital and founded the first Swiss Oculo-Genetics Unit.
The management of retinoblastoma remained a major focus of his clinical activity, his team contributed to significant landmark advances, pushing the frontiers of conservative management, notably by introducing techniques for intravitreal and intracameral chemotherapy.
In 2015, he was appointed Full Professor and Head of Ocular Oncology, Pathology & Genetics at Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital. He was elected honorary secretary of ISOO in 2017 and president of ISGEDR in 2019. Today the Lausanne Retinoblastoma Clinic has become a quaternary reference center, recruiting 50-60 new patients yearly from 72 nations. He delivered more than 250 invited lectures and is the author or co-author of some 300 peer-reviewed papers and 34 book chapters (h-index=51).
Bryan F. Shaw, Ph.D.
Dr. Shaw is a professor of chemistry at Baylor University. Bryan’s oldest son Noah is a survivor of bilateral retinoblastoma. Noah’s experience inspired Bryan and his colleagues at Baylor to create the free smartphone app CRADLE (short for: ComputeR Assisted Detector of LEukocoria). Also known as “The White Eye Detector,” CRADLE allows parents and clinicians to examine children for leukocoria using a cell phone. CRADLE has been used across the world—from big cities in Germany to small villages in Guatemala—to initiate the diagnoses of retinoblastoma, Coats’ disease, cataract, myelin retinal nerve fiber layer, and refractive error. CRADLE helps parents know The Glow!
Carol L. Shields, M.D.
Dr. Carol Shields completed her residency in ophthalmology at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia in 1987 and subsequently did fellowship training in ocular oncology, oculoplastic surgery, and ophthalmic pathology. She is currently Director of the Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, and Professor of Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
She has authored or coauthored 11 textbooks, 323 chapters in edited textbooks, over 1700 articles in major peer-reviewed journals, given over 850 lectureships, and has received numerous professional awards. The 9 most prestigious awards include:
- The Byron Kanaley Award (1979) given to the top student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame. She was the first woman to receive this award.
- The Donders Award (2003) given by the Netherlands Ophthalmological Society every 5 years to an ophthalmologist worldwide who has contributed extensively to the field of ophthalmology. She was the first woman ever to receive this award.
- Honorary Doctorate of Science Degree from the University of Notre Dame (2005) and the Catholic University (2011) bestowed at the graduation ceremonies from each University. She was the first woman graduate of Notre Dame to receive this award.
- The American Academy of Ophthalmology Life Achievement Honor Award (2011) for significant contributions to the field of ophthalmology.
- Induction into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame (2011) for lifetime success in athleticism and career.
- President of the International Society of Ocular Oncology (2013-2015) – This is the largest international society of clinicians and basic scientists interested in ocular tumors. She was the first elected President of this society.
- President of the Macula Society (2020) – This is the leading society for retina and vitreous doctors in the world. She served as Treasurer (2017), Secretary (2018), Vice President (2019), and President (2020).
- Ophthalmology Power List - Nominated by peers as one of the top 100 leaders in the field of ophthalmology and published in the journal, The Ophthalmologist. There have only been 5“Top 100” power lists in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021 and she was on all four. In 2020, Dr. Carol Shields was listed at #1 in the Ophthalmology Power List.
- The J. Donald M. Gass Lecture of the Retina Society (2019).
Dr. Carol Shields is a member of numerous ocular oncology, pathology, and retina societies and has delivered 57 named lectures in America and abroad. She has been active in the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She serves on the editorial/advisory board of 31 journals including JAMA Ophthalmology, Retina, Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and International Journal of Clinical Oncology.
She practices Ocular Oncology on a full time basis with on the Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital. Each year the Oncology Service manages approximately 500 patients with uveal melanoma, 120 patients with retinoblastoma, and numerous other intraocular, orbital, and adnexal tumors from the United States and abroad. She and her husband Jerry are the parents of 7 children, ranging in age from 21 to 33 years.
Paul T. Urrea, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S.
Dr. Urrea is a Board Certified Eye Surgeon in practice in Los Angeles, California. He received his college education at Yale University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He went on to earn his medical degree at the UCLA School of Medicine, and a masters degree in Health Planning and Policy Analysis from the UCLA School of Public Health.Dr. Urrea did his medical internship at the Los Angeles County General Hospital, and received specialty training in ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute and the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. Dr. Urrea returned to UCLA to receive additional sub-specialty training in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at the Jules Stein Eye Institute.
Dr. Urrea is Medical Director of Soledad Eye Surgeons Medical Group in Los Angeles. In addition to providing medical care to his private patients, Dr. Urrea serves on the academic faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC where he serves as a Clinical Associate Professor. Dr. Urrea is a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology, and is an attending physician at various local hospitals, including Monterey Park Hospital and White Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Urrea has co-authored numerous clinical articles and book chapters in the medical literature and, as a member of the medical school faculty, supervises young doctors in their surgical training, as well as provides lectures to practicing physicians about the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease.
Dr. Urrea is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and has been designated a “Top Doctor” by his physician peers in the “Guide to Top Doctors” listing top-rated physicians in America’s largest metropolitan areas. Dr. Urrea has also been selected as one of “America’s Top Ophthalmologists” by the Consumer Research Council of America. Dr. Urrea serves on the board of directors of several community and professional organizations, including Medical Eye Services, the Eye Care Network, Advanced Diagnostic and Surgical Center, the Doheny Professional Staff Association, Family Health Alliance Medical Group, and is past-President of the Legatus Pasadena, and the California Latino Medical Association. Originally born and raised in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, Dr. Urrea now resides with his wife and five children in Arcadia, California.